The present invention relates to a method and a device for the removal of cuttings from subsea boreholes during drilling.
On drilling boreholes in subterranean formations cuttings are formed and are transported to the surface by the drilling fluid. When drilling wells offshore e.g. for oil and/or gas production, water is commonly used as drilling fluid when drilling the uppermost parts of the holes. The cuttings will thus be contaminated and may be deposited at the sea bottom. From one single well there will typically be formed several hundred cubic meters of cuttings.
It is thus required that the cuttings are transported away from the borehole so as not to deposit large piles that obstruct further work with the well or wellhead and that may damage structures.
As drilling is a very expensive operation, high demands are made to operational reliability and sufficient capacity for the equipment to be used for transporting the cuttings. Surrounding the borehole there may be a guide base through which the drill string is arranged. By connecting a suction hose to such a guide base, the cuttings produced during drilling may be removed.